Fulham lost yesterday to Arsenal 4 - 0 at the Emirates Stadium. Going into the match I thought this was going to be an extremely difficult match. I guess I was right. I wasn't expecting though for Arsenal to score four goals. This game was more about how great Arsenal played than how Fulham performed. I always go back to look at my "keys" to see if they were any factors to the result of the match. Below is an analysis of "my 5 keys to victory for Fulham against Arsenal."
1. Who will be in the lineup tomorrow? Well, Roy Hodgson made many changes to his lineup yesterday. As expected players like Jonathan Greening, Chris Smalling, and Kagisho Dikgacoi did play. The problem was how well did they play? Let's just say losing 4 - 0 it is hard to say anyone played well with that result. The lineup changes were a huge factor yesterday.
2. Fulham's strikers need to take advantage of any opportunity they get to score. Fulham as expected did not get many opportunities to score yesterday. On the small amount of chances they had, the strikers obviously did not take advantage of them. Okaka made a nice pass to Dempsey in the penalty box. It looked like he might have been fouled. The was no foul called on this play. Erik Nevland had a chance with a header late in the first half. His shot went over the net. There were just not enough chances for Fulham yesterday.
3. Fulham need to contain Robin van Persie and Andrei Arshavin. Fulham failed big time on this key. Andrei Arshavin and Robin van Persie both scored goals and were active the entire game. The back four did a horrible job on their strikers.
4. Kagisho Dikgacoi and Jonathan Greening need to be solid in the midfield. Again, with Fulham losing 4 - 0 it is tough to say anyone was solid yesterday. Arsenal controlled most of the match. Fulham had very little possession. Kagisho Dikgacoi and Jonathan Greening really did not make any impact in this match.
5. Mark Schwarzer again will need to be exceptional . I can't believe I am going to say this, but Mark Schwarzer actually made a mistake. He let Arshavin steal the ball from him which eventually led to the first goal. He rarely makes mistakes so I need to keep this mistake in perspective. However, since he was not exceptional in this match this key was a factor as well.
I was not optimistic going into this match. I was not expecting Fulham to lose 4 - 0. It was a bad result for the club.
In concluding, I think everyone of my "keys"were negative factors in this match. Again, this match was more about Arsenal than Fulham. I wouldn't be surprised to see them winning the League next year. The youngsters of Arsenal are starting to grow up.
Now that this post is over I can concentrate on getting excited for Wedneday. I think you might see some posts from me leading up to the biggest match in Fulham history.